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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27660863">Hey There Stranger</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NowYouSeeMe/pseuds/NowYouSeeMe'>NowYouSeeMe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Station 19 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Deaf Character, Firehouse Baby, Gen, Inspired by Life Unexpected, hard of hearing character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:00:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,786</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27660863</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NowYouSeeMe/pseuds/NowYouSeeMe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"My name's Elena. I uh...I'm your daughter.."</p><p>In which meeting the baby she gave up for adoption 15 years ago was the last thing Andy expected when she walked into the station that morning.</p><p>[Unedited plot bunny with no set plan for continuation—READ AT YOUR OWN RISK]</p><p>{Crossposted on FFN under the same title. Same username just add a (1) at the end}</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Andy Herrera &amp; Pruitt Herrera, Andy Herrera &amp; Robert Sullivan, Andy Herrera/Robert Sullivan, Maya Bishop &amp; Andy Herrera</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Had a plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone so I had to get it out. Hope y'all enjoy this little snippet</p>
    </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A plot bunny struck and I needed to get it out. This was the result. </p><p>Is it trash? Yes.</p><p>Is OOC? Probably.</p><p>But I hope y'all enjoy this little snippet of an idea anyway</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pruitt Herrera didn't think too much of it when he saw a girl walk through the station's front doors, backpack slung over her shoulders.</p><p>Actually scratch that, his first thoughts were something along the lines of: “<em> It’s Monday, why isn’t this kid in school?” </em>But he supposed that was neither here nor there. Putting his inner Dad aside he treated her just like any other walk-in, greeting her with a warm and friendly “How can I help you?”</p><p>His second thought was that the kid seemed nervous. The former captain knew that the station could be a little intimidating to civilians but still, most walk-ins didn’t struggle to find the words to a simple question the way this one did. Their hands didn’t shake like this one did. </p><p>Not unless something was wrong.</p><p>“Is everything okay? Do you need help?” At his concerned questioning the little walk-in finds her voice, shaky but determined.</p><p>“No! I’m fine I’m just a little...I’m, I’m actually looking for someone. I was hoping you’d be able to tell me if they’re here?” </p><p>“Well the team’s actually out on a call right now but they should be back any minute. Who are you looking for?”</p><p>“Herrera,” she says, “Andrea Herrera.” And at the sound of his daughter’s name his interest is instantly piqued.</p><p>“Can I ask what this is about?”</p><p>Again, the young lady in front of him seemed at a loss at how to answer before simply saying it was a personal matter. Silently Pruitt wondered just how <em> personal </em> the matter could be if she didn’t know to call his daughter Andy instead of “Andrea”. Furthermore, he can’t imagine what sort of personal business his daughter could have with a teenager.</p><p>Regardless, he wanted to try and put the girl at ease so he smiled. “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said, hand outstretched, “I’m Pruitt Herrera. Andy’s father.”</p><p>The brown-eyed girl across from him looks surprised as she shakes his hand robotically. “You’re— wow hi, I mean Hello! It’s, it’s a pleasure to meet you sir.” Pruitt couldn’t help but  chuckle a little as she fumbled through her introduction. He thinks he has this girl pegged now. Either a thankful civilian or a star struck academy hopeful, looking for a couple words of wisdom from one of the few people in the department she could see herself in. Maybe both.</p><p>He’s quick to offer the girl a tour while she waits, one she accepts with great enthusiasm. As easy as flipping a switch he falls into a groove, years and years of school tour experience telling him exactly how to keep his young guest’s attention as they went along. Not that the girl needed much prompting really. She was plainly interested and quick to ask questions: “<em> How much water pressure can your hoses handle?” “How did the Alarm fire classification system work and what constitutes a five alarm fire?” “Do you need special training to be on the Aid car?” </em>It all but confirmed her as an ‘Academy hopeful’ in his eyes even, if she was a few years off. </p><p>The older man was more than happy to answer all of them of course. It'd been awhile since he’d enjoyed giving a tour this much and it was important to encourage the next generation of firefighters from an early age. He was halfway through his explanation on proper equipment maintenance when the roar of a fire engine met his ears. One by one the members of station 19 spilled out, joking goodnaturedly as they went about taking off their gear. It's Warren who notices them first.</p><p>"Hey Capt." he greets, "we got a visitor?" </p><p>This gets everyone’s attention and his little walk-in shrinks next to him. He puts a bracing hand on her shoulder before saying “Andrea when you’ve got a minute this young lady would like to speak with you.” His daughter looked at the pair of them, plainly confused, before shooting a glance of Sullivan. </p><p>“Go ahead Herrera. We’ll talk after.”</p><p>“Thank you sir," she says quickly, voice tinted with sarcasm. Pruitt patted the girl’s shoulder in goodbye as his daughter made her way over to them, wanting to give them some semblance of privacy in the room full of curious eyes.</p><p>“Hi…” His daughter began, voice trailing off in confusion and as Pruitt Herrera made his back to reception he could just barely make out the younger girl’s voice—once again apprehensive and nervous—asking if there was somewhere more private where they could talk.</p><p>How odd...</p>
<hr/><p>To say that Andy was at a loss would’ve been an understatement. </p><p>Try as she might she didn’t recognize the face in front of her. She went over all the calls they’d been on recently in her head but none of the grateful faces she’d seen matched the visage of the dark haired stranger. Which was embarrassing because she clearly knew who she was if she’d gone so far as to ask for her by name.</p><p>It was the fear of an unintentional social faux pas that had led Andy not to question when the mystery girl had asked for more privacy. She’d been hoping that the trek to a room would be long enough to jog her memory but no such luck.</p><p>“I’m sorry,”she began delicately “but have we met before because I’m afraid I can’t seem to remember.”</p><p>“No!—I mean technically yes but it’s been awhile so I don’t think you’d recognize me, I’ve uh changed a lot since then.”</p><p>“Oh well that makes me feel a little better,” Andy joked, producing a somewhat strained laugh from her companion. “My father mentioned you wanted to talk to me?” As Andy trailed in question the sort-of-stranger tensed in an instant, mindlessly fiddling with her backpack straps in a fit of nervous energy.</p><p>“Right!” She babbled “Yes, I do wanna talk. This just—it’s kinda difficult to explain. Difficult to <em> say </em>actually. Uhm…”</p><p>“How about we start easy,” Andy suggested. “You still haven’t told me your name so let’s just start with that.”</p><p>The girl took a calming breath before she answered. Andy wondered what could possibly be so anxiety inducing.</p><p>"My name's Elena. I uh...I'm your daughter.."</p><p>In an instant it was like someone had squeezed all the air out of Andy's lungs. She thought she heard herself let out a breathy <em> ‘what?’ </em>but she wasn’t sure. </p><p>“I can prove it!” The girl—<em> Elena— </em>said quickly before she began digging into her backpack while Andy looked on in a daze.</p><p><b> <em>('I’m your daughter’ That was what she said but there was no way...was there?</em> </b>)</p><p> </p><p>“This is me and that’s you right?” Elena had produced an old photograph, one that Andy took without a word. She recognized it as once, bringing back a flood of memories she’d locked away nearly two decades ago. </p><p>Memories involving a little pink plus sign and crying her heart out in the girl’s bathroom during 5th period.</p><p>Memories involving more crying as she told her father how sorry she was and begging him not to hate her.</p><p>Tears as she went through hour after hour of agonizing labor followed by the equally agonizing  emptiness she felt soon after as she said goodbye to her baby…</p><p>The picture in her hand didn’t capture any of those moments though. Instead it showed Andy in a hospital bed, much younger than she was now, tired and disheveled, gazing down lovingly at the tiny little bundle in her arms. At her baby—At Elena. </p><p>“That-that is you right, otherwise this'd be really awkward.”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s, that’s me.” Andy wiped her eyes. Was she crying? “I, I’m sorry I’m just really surprised.” </p><p>“Yeah I bet.” Elena—her <em> daughter— </em> jokes before she starts babbling again. “I’m really sorry about showing up at your work like this, it's just that, well I tried your house a couple times but no one was ever home and your neighbor mentioned you worked here soooo yeah.”</p><p>(<b><em>She’d tried her house? When? How many times had she knocked with no answer?)</em> </b></p><p> </p><p>“No no! It’s fine.” Andy took a step forward before realizing she had no idea what to do. What was crossing the line? Could she hug her or was that too familiar? What about putting her hand on her shoulder, or was that still too much. What was too <em> little? </em>She didn’t want Elena thinking she didn’t want her here.</p><p>Her daughter—her <em> baby— </em>takes a step forward too and Andy realizes that’s probably the best course of actions. </p><p>Baby steps. Let Elena set the pace.</p><p>There was so much the woman wanted to say, so much she wanted to ask and no idea how to go about it so the only thing to do was…</p><p>Baby steps.</p><p>Andy hands back the photo. “Were you waiting long?” It feels like a stupid question. It is a stupid question. But it’s a start.</p><p>“No not really. You’re uh, your dad gave me a tour actually. It was pretty cool.” Elena smiles at her then and Andy smiles too. She takes the chance to really look at the girl then, scouring her face for a resemblance. It wasn't too hard to find. Same eyes, same nose, same lips, same jawline. Elena's hair was darker though, with more of a wave to it.</p><p>She was beautiful. Like Andy knew she would be.</p><p>Elena must've been doing the same thing because they fell into an awkward silence as they stared at each other before both falling into a fit of nervous laughter.</p><p>"So you and your dad work together?" She asked tentatively; her own attempt at small talk.</p><p>Andy nodded. "He's technically retired but he likes to pop in, make sure everything's running smoothly." </p><p>Elena nodded right back, clutching her bag straps tight in her hands. She seemed so nervous, like she was worried she might get thrown out if she said the wrong thing.</p><p>The idea that her daughter might be afraid of her made Andy’s stomach churn. Maybe, it was just her being paranoid but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about this situation. </p><p>For one, while Andy had fantasized about this day plenty of times before, those fantasies had always involved a much older version of Elena. A legal adult, a young woman, free to make her own choice about whether or not to come looking for her birth mother. Never had she imagined a teenager. One whose parents probably had no idea she was skipping school to be here if Elena’s lack of adult supervision was anything to go by. </p><p>Andy wanted to ask, wanted to show that she cared. But again the fear of pushing too hard too fast, of scaring her daughter away, was just too much. After all, most people don’t take too kindly to strangers asking pointed personal questions, and that was who Andy was, wasn't she? A stranger.</p><p>
  <b> <em>(Baby steps…)</em> </b>
</p><p>“Can I get you anything? Juice or water?”</p><p>“No I—”</p><p>“It’s really no trouble, I can—“</p><p>“I’m good thanks.” Elena cleared her throat. “I’m sure you probably want me to get to the point though right. I mean firefighters aren’t exactly known for their free time, you probably want me to get out of your hair.” She’d said it like a joke but her smile didn’t reach her eyes.</p><p> </p><p><b>(</b><b><em>You’re wrong</em></b><b>. </b> <b> <em>I don’t need you to get to the point. Take all the time you want. I don’t want you to leave. I want you here. Please stay.) </em> </b></p><p> </p><p>Elena had pulled out a pen and paper from her bag and offered them to her. “I need you to sign this.”</p><p>“And what is <em> this </em> exactly?” Andy asked, confused as she gave the paper a once over.</p><p>“I’m currently in the process of getting legally emancipated and I need you to sign a permanent release of rights.”</p><p>“What<em> ? </em>” Andy was at a loss for words, out of shock rather than fear this time. </p><p>“I talked to my social worker and it turns out you never signed a permanent release of rights. I can’t get emancipated without it and she was gonna take forever to get the papers over to you so I thought it’d be faster if I brought them to you myself.”</p><p>Andy was still a little confused. Surely at some point in the adoption process the missing paperwork had to have come up, why hadn’t this been brought to her attention years ago? Guess it was true what they said about bureaucracy.</p><p>She signed a neat “<em> Andrea Herrera </em>” on the dotted line but didn’t hand the paper back immediately, reading it over to make sure there wasn’t something she was missing. “Elena, are you sure I need to be signing this?” When she didn’t respond right away Andy looked up. “Elena?”</p><p>The dark haired girl shuffled a little closer, looking slightly abashed but not quite as anxious as before. “I’m sorry, what?” </p><p>The elder Herrera handed the document over to her. “I said, are you sure I need to be the one signing this? Shouldn’t your parents be the one’s signing if you're trying to get emancipated?” Andy had a lot of not so nice feelings on the topic of emancipation but she’d decided the polite thing to do was to keep it to herself. </p><p>
  <b> <em>(Too personal, too much too soon…)</em> </b>
</p><p> </p><p>“But you are my parent.” Elena replied, confused.</p><p>“Yeah but shouldn’t your adoptive parents still be the one's signing? They’re your legal guardians. Even if you're trying to get emancipated you still technically need their permission.” Andy explained. But that didn’t seem to help. </p><p>In fact if anything Elena looked even more confused. Her tone had taken on a very slow and deliberate quality, the kind you used when you were trying to explain something obvious to a small child. “I don’t <em> have </em> adoptive parents. I’m getting emancipated from <em> foster care </em>.”</p><p>It was like someone had pulled the floor out from under her. </p><p>
  <b> <em>(That can’t be right. There’s no way that’s right. THAT CAN’T BE RIGHT!)</em> </b>
</p><p> </p><p>“Hold on, <em> foster care? </em>” All the emotion Andy had been trying so hard to keep at bay was starting to spill out turning her voice frantic and a little loud. “What do you mean foster care?”</p><p>Elena’s face twisted with emotion, “Yes foster care, you know the place kids end up when their real parents can’t be bothered!”</p><p>Andy didn’t think it was possible but her heart somehow managed to sink even further into her chest. “No, no honey,” she took a step forward, Elena took a step back.</p><p><b>(</b> <b><em>You’ve got it all wrong. Please give me a chance to explain. Please don’t run.)</em> </b></p><p> </p><p>The lieutenant put her hands up in a placating gesture. Internally she marveled at how quickly the situation had managed to devolve. “I’m just a little confused,” Andy began softly. “You’re not supposed to be in foster care, you were never supposed to be in foster care. You’re kind of catching me off guard here kiddo.” She finished helplessly.</p><p>Elena’s body language was still guarded but the heat from earlier was gone. “What are you talking about?”</p><p>Andy swallowed hard. “When, when I gave you up,” she winced. “there was a family all lined up to take you home. When I left the hospital the social worker said they were ready to take you home so, so this whole time I thought—!”</p><p>There was a pause where Elena seemed to be searching Andy’s face. She must’ve found what she was looking for because finally she said: “Do you really not know?”</p><p>“Know what?”</p><p>Again, Elena stared at her for a minute before she answered. “When I was a few weeks old I got sick. It was a while before they could clear up the infection.” </p><p>Elena started to pace nervously from foot to foot and Andy’s mind had begun to race. She could remember just how small newborns were, how delicate and fragile Elena had felt when she first held her in her arms. The idea of something so small being so sick sent shivers up her spine. More importantly, while Andy might not be a doctor she had enough medical knowledge to know that an infection of any kind in a newborn was dangerous. At the very least an infection meant a fever, and if it was the kind that needed extensive hospital intervention then there was a strong possibility that it could be affecting her health to this day </p><p>“You’re okay though right?” Screw baby steps.</p><p>Elena nodded before continuing. “The perspective parents pulled out when doctors told them they’d be stuck with ‘damaged goods’". </p><p>“What do you mean by…?”</p><p>Elena shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m deaf.” She then tucked her hair behind her ears to reveal a shiny pair of hearing aids the young woman hadn’t noticed before. </p><p>Just then a claxon filled the room as the dispatcher's voice came in over the intercom: “<em>Dispatch- Engine 19 respond.” </em></p><p>Andy jumped at the sudden noise. With everything going on she’d forgotten where they were.</p><p>“It looks like you need to go. I can see myself out.”</p><p>
  <b> <em>(Don’t leave. You can’t leave)</em> </b>
</p><p> </p><p>“Elena wait!” She put her hand on her shoulder to stop the girl from leaving but was quickly shrugged off. “Just wait okay. You don’t have to go.” </p><p>The teenager lifted up a sceptical eyebrow. “I kinda do actually. You more than me since some guy’s house is burning.”</p><p>Andy couldn’t argue with that logic. “Just stay here until I get back. I promise we can finish talking then.” she offered.</p><p>Elena was still making her way towards the door. “I’m not trying to be rude but this clearly isn’t a good time for you and if I don’t make it back to school for next period my foster dad’s gonna flip his shit so-.”</p><p>With all the bombshell news Andy had received it was difficult to think of more than one thing at a time but if there was one thing she needed to at least try and address before Elena made her way out that door it was those emancipation papers. Andy hadn’t liked the idea of a teenager needing emancipation from the very start. The only reason she’d felt remotely comfortable signing those papers was because she thought Elena had a support system to back her up. If not parents, then aunts or uncles or older cousins who could look out for. But now, knowing that Elena had no one looking out for her, and had had no one for quite sometime...she couldn’t let her go out into the world like that.</p><p>“Are you sure this emancipation thing is a good idea?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>The very real time-crunch plus the sirens was making it difficult for Andy to put her thoughts together. “You’re just a kid, it’s dangerous for you to live alone.” She said quickly. “And, and what about things like rent and food, and bills. You’re only fifteen, do you honestly think you can handle all that?”</p><p>Elena didn’t say anything right away and Andy wondered if she had heard her. </p><p>And it would’ve made sense if she hadn’t because her daughter was deaf. </p><p>The sirens were probably making it hard to hear...because her daughter was <em> deaf </em>. </p><p>Her daughter was deaf and Andy had no idea what to do with that information. </p><p>Her <em> fifteen </em> year old daughter was deaf, intent on living on her own with apparently no help or support of <em> any </em> kind—! It seemed like just yesterday Andy had moved out of her dad’s house and even then she hadn’t been on her own, she had Maya. And even if she didn’t have Maya, there was always her dad! </p><p>Andy, an actual <em> adult </em>, still needed help to keep her life together. What kind of life could Elena lead if she had no one?</p><p>
  <b> <em>(I can’t let you do this. I can’t!)</em> </b>
</p><p>“No offense, but what do you think gives you the right to talk to me like this.” </p><p>Elena was clearly angry with her but Andy didn’t have the luxury of time to try and put things delicately. “I know you probably don’t wanna hear this but you're making a mistake. You have no idea what it takes to—.”</p><p>“You’re right, I don’t wanna hear this!” The young girl cut in. “I can take care of myself, I have for fifteen years in case you haven’t noticed! So don’t come at me with this ‘trying to be maternal’ shit and telling me what to do ‘cause we both know you’re just doing this to try and make yourself feel less guilty!”</p><p>“Elena please,” Andy pleaded. “I’m trying to help.”</p><p>“No, just stop! You think you know what you’re talking about but you don’t, okay. You don’t know what my life is like, you don’t get to add in your two cents like it’s supposed to mean something.”</p><p>They were at the doorway now, Elena’s hand was inches from the door handle and feet away from freedom; away from Andy. The dispatch siren was still sounding off. She was running out of time.</p><p>“You didn’t have a problem letting me go when I was a baby,” Elena spat. “So just let me go now!”</p><p>Before Andy had time to react the door had swung open, it was Maya. “Hey I hate to interrupt but we gotta go-.” The tension in the room was so palpable it stopped Maya dead in her tracks. “Is...everything okay in here?” </p><p>Andy could only imagine what they must’ve looked like. Elena’s eyes were glossy with emotion and Andy knew that her own eyes looked much the same.</p><p>She was just about to tell Maya to go on without her when Elena bolted. Andy called out to her but she was fast. Too fast. Andy ran after her, Maya trailing behind in concern, but it was too late. Before she knew it Elena was out the front door and down the street, leaving Andy with an empty feeling in her chest.</p><p>She could hear Maya asking her what was the matter, her dad too, but their voices sounded far away. Vaguely, she was aware of a wet feeling on her cheeks. Was she crying? </p><p>Maya had left, probably to answer the call. Andy needed to do that too, didn't she; answer the call?</p><p>“Andrea, mija what happened?”</p><p>The tears were falling harder now and her father had pulled into a hug. </p><p>
  <em> What’s the matter? What happened? </em>
</p><p>She’d just ruined any chance she had of seeing her daughter ever again, that's what happened.</p><p>
  <b> <em>(Come back. I’m sorry, just please come back...)</em> </b>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'd love to hear what you guys think so please consider leaving a review!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>"can u pick me up?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>It was this hasty text, followed quickly by an address, sprang police officer Karen "Carrie" Reis into action. A lot of people might've been upset at having to get up and go so unexpectedly on their day off, but not Officer Reis. For one thing, she'd been up for over an hour as part of her early morning exercise routine and for another she was never one to shy from a call for help, especially when it came from this particular phone number.</p><p>Reis was normally a stickler for rules—even before she became an officer of the law—but this morning she felt the situation called for a bit of rule breaking. Not a lot of rule breaking though, just a handful of miles over the speed limit. In no time she was pulling into a Starbucks parking lot. She was just about to reach for her phone when she caught sight of who she was looking for.</p><p>"Elena!" Reis called, getting out of her car and walking over to the girl in hurried strides. Without a word the teenage girl latched on to her and began to cry.</p><p>Though she didn't have the slightest clue what was going on Reis was quick to switch gears. She rubbed soothing circles on Elena's back and repeated over and over that everything was going to be alright, whatever it was. All the while the police officer's head ran rampant with ideas about what might've upset the teenager so badly. The fifteen year old wasn't the kind to express her emotions so readily, It had to have been something big if it reduced Elena to tears in a public place.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Elena said miserably. "I know it's your day off and I shouldn't—" she was caught off by another sob escaping her lips.</p><p>"Don't apologize," Carrie said quickly, leading Elena over to sit at one of the tables outside the coffee shop. Luckily it wasn't raining.</p><p>"<em>What happened?</em>" She'd switched to using Sign so Elena would feel more comfortable.</p><p>Reis listened politely while Elena explained. Her signing was jerky and slow as she began her story, owing to a combination of shaky limbs and worry that her mentor might be angry at her for what she'd done. But the more she went on, the more Elena lost herself in the memory of what had just happened. By the time she'd reached the part where her and her birth mother had argued about emancipation Elena had to stop to wipe away a couple traitor tears.</p><p>"<em>You should've seen her face when she found out I was deaf." </em></p><p>Officer Reis had never been naturally gifted at consoling people. She had plenty of empathy, some might say she had more than most even. But she had trouble figuring the right words to say and then getting them to come out right. She'd lost count of the amount of times people complained that the monotone her voice tended to take on made her seem insincere.</p><p>This was a problem that initially followed her into ASL, where tone relied in large part on the mastery of one's facial expressions. While Reis had gotten much better after years of practice, she didn't have to worry about maintaining the right tone now because she could feel nothing now but the deepest of empathy, which was more than enough.</p><p>"<em>Oh Elena, I'm so sorry." </em></p><p>Rules might've dictated that, as her mentor, it was Officer Reis' duty to scold the girl across from her—for skipping school, for stealing a peek at her social worker's records, which, in all honesty might've technically been illegal—but experience told her this was the last thing Elena needed right now.</p><p>She and Elena were alike in a lot of ways: Both had grown up in foster care in less than ideal homes, both had acted out and had run-ins with the law, and both had hang-ups rooted in family. Combined with the fact that ASL just so happened to be one of Officer Reis' special interests, it was no wonder the two had been paired up as part of a diversionary mentorship program some two odd years ago.</p><p>Reis knew what it was like when meetings with biological family members didn't go the way you'd imagined. For a lot of foster kids it was the sort of thing they coveted so much that the image of it often crossed the border into fantasy. It worked like a dream, where everything was perfect and all their questions were met with ideal answers. But the hard truth was that real life was not at all like fantasy, and many foster kids' hearts end up broken by this fact.</p><p>But rather than imagine meeting parents that loved her beyond measure however, Elena's mind had always gone to the worst place when thinking about her biological mother. She wanted more than anything to think that the woman who gave birth to her cared about her, but a healthy dose of skepticism and the cruel words of others throughout the years, kept her from believing such a thing was possible.</p><p>The older woman wished Elena had told her about her plan to meet her mother. If she couldn't have talked Elena out of the idea altogether she would've at least liked to have coached the girl beforehand. It looked to her as though Elena's meeting with her birth mother had played out as a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. The girl was too afraid of rejection and too angry for it to have gone any other way.</p><p>Elena sniffled. "<em>Is it messed up that I kinda still wanna see her again? I mean, don't get me wrong I wasn't exactly </em><em><strong>thrilled</strong></em> <em>by how things went but…" </em>her hands trailed off.</p><p>"<em>It's natural that you're curious." </em>Reis signed back, picking up where the girl had left off. "<em>You don't have to feel guilty about wanting to know where you came from."</em></p><p>She smiled kindly at her charge. "<em>I'm not gonna tell you you shouldn't see your mom again some day, if that's what you wanna do then do it."</em></p><p>Elena nodded. "<em>She was nice…she said she didn't know that I wasn't adopted…"</em></p><p>"<em>But you don't believe her?." </em>Reis finished.</p><p>"<em>I don't know what to believe!" </em>Elena answered back, her movements becoming much sharper.</p><p>Andy <em>had </em>seemed perfectly sincere and perfectly surprised when they'd spoken. And what's more, Elena, who was more observant when it came to things like body language and facial movements, hadn't been able to pick up on anything that might've told she was being deceived.</p><p>But for better or worse, Elena was not the kind to trust easily. It was a matter of self-preservation. People were cruel, and selfish. She couldn't allow herself to be taken in so easily; to be manipulated and made a fool of. She couldn't allow herself to be made vulnerable.</p><p>Reis chose her words carefully. "<em>You said she ran after you. People don't run after people they don't care about."</em></p><p>"<em>I guess..." </em>Elena admitted reluctantly.</p><p>The officer put her hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Just promise me you'll give yourself some time before you decide anything okay."</p><p>Elena laughed and gave a mock salute. "Yes ma'am."</p><p>Reis cracked a smile right back. "And maybe next time, you call me before you decide it's a good idea to go off on your own to a strange place."</p><p>"It wasn't a strange place, it was a fire station. That's about as safe as your precinct."</p><p>"Oh! Fraternizing with the enemy I see." Joked the police officer.</p><p>"Apparently it's in my blood." Elena bantered back. "Can't be helped."</p><p>They went on like that for a little while, talking about less emotional topics and laughing. Reis had said she'd drive Elena to school, but not before she'd finished a hot chocolate she'd bought her. Sugar was always essential after a good cry.</p><p>"Don't tell them at the station but firefighters aren't so bad." The woman said as they were getting up.</p><p>"Oh wow, scandalous!" Elena teased as she swung her bag over her shoulder.</p><p>"Well Ryan—you remember Ryan don't you?"</p><p>"Your partner right?"</p><p>Reis nodded before continuing. "Ryan's friends with some firefighters. They're really nice. I think you'd like them."</p><hr/><p> </p><p>"So what happens now?"</p><p>Her father didn't know it, but Pruitt Herrera had asked the very question that had been running around in Andy's mind since he'd driven her home.</p><p>Having to retell the story of what'd happened to her dad had been an easy distraction. He'd been so stunned by the fact he'd spent time with his granddaughter while being none the wiser. He couldn't help but shout out questions as Andy went along:</p><p>("<strong>How could they not have told us the adoption fell through. They should've told us!")</strong></p><p>
  <strong>(She can't live on her own, she's just a little girl…)</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>("Deaf? I didn't notice anything. How deaf?")</strong>
</p><p>But now that it was all over, reality was creeping its ugly head again.</p><p>"I don't know…" Andy said slowly, resting her hands on her knees. "I don't think there's anything I can do, I just have to hope she comes back."</p><p>"There's gotta be someone you can call." Pruitt insisted doggedly from his seat on the couch next to his daughter. "A social worker. Someone"</p><p>"Papi, Social Services isn't gonna just <em>give </em>me her information. And besides, I signed those papers so legally I don't have a leg to stand on." Andy rubbed her temples in frustration. "I can't believe I signed it. I didn't even really look at it until after. Why did I do that? I never do that!"</p><p>"You were in shock," her father soothed. "Don't beat yourself up over it."</p><p>Andy shook her head. "She ran away from me. There's so much going on, I started to raise my voice—It's no wonder she ran off...she looked so upset."</p><p>The elder Herrera wasn't sure what to say. This was beyond uncharted territory. "...she looked good though, healthy. That's something."</p><p>Andy nodded but didn't say anything. Her dad was right though, it was something. They'd both heard plenty of horror stories of foster homes that starved their kids, ones that ruled with a closed fist. Andy didn't even wanna <em>think</em> about it.</p><p>"She's a lot like you, you know."</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>Pruitt nodded, smiling softly. "Most teenagers aren't interested in the fire trucks anymore, but not her. When we were on the tour she was like a kid in a candy store. We had a great time."</p><p>Andy smiled as she imagined the scene. "Guess it's that Herrera blood huh?"</p><p>Pruitt laughed. "I guess so."</p><p>"...what did you tell people when we left by the way? I mean, Sullivan doesn't think I just ditched work does he?"</p><p>"I told Maya to tell the Captain you'd be taking an emergency personal day and that if Sullivan had a problem with it he could take it up with me." Pruitt explained.</p><p>Andy sighed, "Right, Maya. I forgot she saw."</p><p>"Are you gonna tell her what happened?"</p><p>"Kind of have to don't I?"</p><p>"You don't have to tell anyone anything if you don't want to mija."</p><p>Andy considered this for a moment.</p><p>There was no way she couldn't tell the guys at the station what happened. Though she'd resolved to keep her personal and work life separate, she didn't think she'd be able to hide something this big.</p><p>For one thing, there was no way she couldn't tell Maya the whole truth. Not only had she been there to see Andy fall apart, but she was also her best friend. Andy needed her.</p><p>Andy also knew the rest of her crew would have questions. Maya explaining that Andy suddenly needed an 'emergency personal day' wouldn't have sat well with any of them. Sure, Andy could lie and avoid their questions, but she didn't want to. It wasn't right; acting like Elena was something to be ashamed of. Besides, the station was her family, you don't hide from family.</p><p>"No it's okay, I want to tell them."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Just to make sure no ones confused Officer Reis is Ryan's partner that we see in episodes 7 &amp; 9 of Season 1. I really liked her character so I just had to use her.</p><p>Please let me know if any of you were confused by the way I differentiated verbal language from sign language.</p><p>Thanks for all the comments on the previous chapter. I appreciate the interest very much.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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